Bev & Mike comment on a furniture, fabrics and accessories of interest to interior designers and their clients in Portland, Oregon.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Julie Herschbach at Huper Optik ProTINT

Summer has finally arrived here in Portland; 80 degrees yesterday and today. The arrival reminded me of an interview we did last year as part of an ASID Industry Partner focus. We interviewed Julie Herschbach owner of Huper Optik ProTINT and used her product on our Macadam store windows to protect our displays.

We discussed Pro Tint and how her husband Jim started the business in 1989 as Pro Tint Window Trimming. For a long time, she was in the background and people would call and ask for Jim. Gradually, callers started asking for Julie as well as Jim then just Julie. Now with two capable employees Pro Tint is not just the Jim and Julie show.

Julie says that fabrics, carpet, wood floors, art and upholstery will fade over time from not only ultraviolet light, but from heat and visible light. Through Pro Tint’s relationship with Huper Optik films, Julie and her crew can provide the best product in terms of performance, aesthetics, high quality protection and customer service, at work or at home.

Fifteen years after Jim started the business, he is retired, but Julie and Julie’s office manager Amica Quesnel and sales consultant Sandy Coleman are busy seeing clients and making estimates. She does find time for a workout and an occasional book by Nicholas Sparks. There is precious little time for gardening so she and Jim have converted garden areas to grass. Julie has recently added a DVR from Comcast to see some of those TV programs commercial free. Now she can decide when she will view a popular show and she can record one show while watching another. She says she even has perfected a technique to record two shows at once.